Q&A: David Evans, outgoing, Ken Wightman, incoming

David Evans founded David Evans and Associates Inc. and its parent company, David Evans Enterprises Inc., in 1976. Evans plans to retire from his company’s board and become chairman emeritus on Monday, when Ken Wightman will take over as board chairman.

DEEI is an engineering, planning, architecture and consulting company that covers four core areas: transportation, energy, land development and water resources. It has 17 offices in seven states and employs more than 650 people.

DJC: How does this transition change your role with the company?

David Evans: Very little. As chairman I was in charge of the board of directors meetings, but the rest of my role with the company was part of a seven-year transition in leadership that was mostly complete.

DJC: How has the industry changed since you founded the company in the 1970s?

Evans: It’s not like a minor change. It’s monumental. When we started it was with a pencil, paper and a drawing board. We don’t have any of that anymore. We don’t have draftsmen now; we have computers.

The changes keep coming. I don’t know why we need an iPad. I don’t know why that matters, but none of that makes sense to us 70-year-olds.

It’s also a very cyclical industry. It depends on money. Right now, there’s very little money out there. It’s a hard time for our industry.

Consulting engineers are a little different – we only get paid if there’s something to work on. If we run out of problems, we have to lay off people. That’s the most miserable part of this whole business.

We were 1,000 people (at our peak) and now we’re 600. That’s not much fun.

DJC: What are you most proud of from your time at the company?

Evans: I’m most proud of the incredible people we’ve been able to attract to this firm. These are people that are so much better in their skills than I ever was.

DJC: What would you say to young people considering this field?

Evans: It’s a lot stabler than others; civil engineers are always going to be needed. Our infrastructure is falling apart and somebody will always be needed to maintain it.

Consulting engineers are the ones that take on the problems that nobody else will. If I were talking to somebody in college I’d say focus on the environmental side – that’s become more and more important in everything we do.

DJC: Do you have any advice for people thinking about starting a business like yours?

Evans: Be ready to work hard. Success for a startup is hard work.

In 1976 I used to pick up (my business partner) at 5 a.m. and we’d work until 8 p.m. every day – not just Monday through Friday. It was hard work, but we loved it.

DJC: If you had your career to do over again, would you change anything?

Evans: I don’t think I could do much better. We made all the decisions we made thinking they were the right ones, and I think we did as well as we could.

DJC: Where do you see the business going in five or 10 years?

Evans: The transportation business is still our stock and trade. There’s money in it.

The bridge over I-5, the Columbia River Crossing – that will go on for at least five years. That’s a big project for us.

I think our firm will continue to slightly grow in that time – not huge growth, but some growth.

DJC: Anything else you’d like to say?

Evans: I don’t feel like this is a big event. It’s a much bigger move for Ken (Wightman) than it is for me.

Ken is much better at a lot of things that I’m not good at. He’s much more of a people person. I’m much more of a numbers person.

Ken wightman

Ken Wightman, 66, has worked at David Evans and Associates Inc. and its parent company, David Evans Enterprises Inc., for almost 27 years. He will replace David Evans as chairman of DEEI on Monday, when Evans will retire from his company’s board and become chairman emeritus.

DEEI is an engineering, planning, architecture and consulting company that covers four core areas: transportation, energy, land development and water resources. It has 17 offices in seven states and employs more than 650 people.

DJC: Coming into this position, what do you think are the company’s biggest strengths?

Ken Wightman: Our ability to be nimble and adaptable in a very changing environment. I think that’s been something we’ve been fortunate in, even since the telecommunications bust in 2000. We used to be telecom focused, but after the bust we moved more into transportation and we’ve been doing very well in that area.

A sign of a thriving company is the ability to adapt to changes that they see in the environment.

DJC: Where do you see room for improvement?

Wightman: From a business perspective, I think we can expand on how we create opportunities for our clients. As a consulting company we need to find how we can add value to the client in everything we do. We need to be a trusted adviser.

I think it’s important to look at a project not just for the construction or engineering costs, but to look at a project in terms of life costs – how long will the structure last – so that the customer can get optimal value.

DJC: What have you learned from Evans while working with him?

Wightman: Dave’s whole philosophy is aimed at finding outstanding people and giving them support for what they do best.

Dave is an extremely honest, forthright, upright individual. He cares about the clients, but I think even more so about the people who work for him.

I think I learned a lot from him in terms of his core ideology.

The employees are invested in the company and are all partial owners. We also provide mentoring and support. These are things that we want to be focused on and continue to care about. And we also care about giving back to our community through a variety of projects.

DJC: Where do you see the company growing in coming years?

Wightman: I believe transportation is where we see our strengths right now.

I think water and energy are where we see our future. The energy transmission grid needs to be expanded and improved as we add biomass, solar and wind energy so we don’t have blackouts or brownouts.

We’ve also been working on some pilot solar farms with the Oregon Department of Transportation that I think are important for us.

DJC: How do you see the industry changing in coming years?

Wightman: I think we’re going to have a pendulum shift and an easing of some regulations. I think that will be good because it will help reduce costs on projects and put people back to work.

I think we’re going to be doing more for productivity with fewer employees in the long run, as well. Clients are demanding more, and we want to make sure we’re doing things as efficiently as we can.

DJC: Any other comments?

Wightman: Dave has been probably one of the most preeminent engineering consultants in Portland over the last 35 years. It’s been such a pleasure to have worked with him and to be part of the growth of the company.

One comment

I’ve worked for several different consulting & contracting firms over the years, but my experience at David Evans & Associates was among the most fulfilling.

Dave’s philosophy of inding good people and then helping them do what they do best was really something that he tried to put into practice, it wasn’t just a platitude (… which almost makes me wonder why I was ever hired, given my limited skillset at the time!)